Binning is used to categorize ICs formed on wafers. Due to process variations, ICs formed on the same wafer can nonetheless have different performance or power parameters. For example, one IC may have lower minimum operating voltage or operate at a higher clock speed than another IC fabricated on the same wafer. Binning permits the manufacture to categorize the ICs into one or more groups or bins by testing the ICs using a test specification. For example, Bin A may contain ICs that satisfy a first criteria of the test specification, Bin B contains ICs that satisfy a second criteria of the test specification, and Bin C contains ICs satisfying a third criteria of the specification. By testing the ICs using the criteria in the test specification, the binning system can categorize the ICs into Bin A, B, or C.
However, binning is a fixed process. That is, after categorizing the ICs into a bin, the ICs cannot then be re-categorized without again attaching the ICs to the testing system. Put differently, when binning the ICs, the testing system simply determines whether an IC past or fails a certain test (e.g., whether the IC has a desired operating power, minimum operational frequency, minimum operating voltage, maximum heat generation, and the like). If later the manufacture wants to re-bin the ICs using a different test specification (which may have different criteria or set different operating thresholds), the ICs cannot be re-categorized without configuring the testing system using the new test specification and re-testing the ICs. As such, re-binning the ICs may be prohibitively expensive and time consuming.